Can we agree no one over 6'3"-something as raced sub-1:44 800m.
ironically, the tall guy with legs like a giraffe ran 1:40.xx!! He's at least 6-3 no?
I have not met David Rudisha. I was standing next to Paul Ereng more than a few years ago. If it's agreed David Rudisha is taller than Paul Ereng, okay. Let's see Ereng and Rudisha together.
Nick Symmonds’ 5’10 165 translates to roughly 190 at 6’2.
Makhloufi (apologies on spelling) I’d also guess was in about that weight class.
Snell was also almost 180 at I believe 6’1-6’2
Coe on the other end was small, built more like a 15/5000 guy.
I too first thought of NS, who is neither heavy, short nor tall. But in some other category altogether which I cant define. Just looks nothing at all like a runner. Looks like the wrestlers from my high school warming up on the track. What a specimen though.
But yes, Andrew Wheating is like 7 feet?
I think Symmonds is the perfect example of someone who probably had to have the body mass he did to be successful.
He has a mesomorphic build, which is ideal for most sports BUT running. Shorter legs, longer torso, wider hips which lifts your essential bodyweight up. You’re naturally top heavy with that bone structure, which you don’t want as a distance runner, so he spent much more time in the weight room than most 800/1500 runners to maximize how much power his relatively short legs could put out. He really trained in a way that was ideal for his exact body type. He needed that extra weight to get his power distribution right.
Running 60-70 mpw with workouts consisting mostly of 800s and 1ks with lots of lifting won’t see most people unlocking their potential in 800m, but for him it did.
I actually really like this subject because I think another way to spice up running and make it more interesting would be to have weight class divisions for all events. It would allow for a lot of different body types to try to run and compete against similar body types. Imagine being the "heavyweight marathon champion of the world" lol that is entertaining to me. 😄
I too first thought of NS, who is neither heavy, short nor tall. But in some other category altogether which I cant define. Just looks nothing at all like a runner. Looks like the wrestlers from my high school warming up on the track. What a specimen though.
But yes, Andrew Wheating is like 7 feet?
I think Symmonds is the perfect example of someone who probably had to have the body mass he did to be successful.
He has a mesomorphic build, which is ideal for most sports BUT running. Shorter legs, longer torso, wider hips which lifts your essential bodyweight up. You’re naturally top heavy with that bone structure, which you don’t want as a distance runner, so he spent much more time in the weight room than most 800/1500 runners to maximize how much power his relatively short legs could put out. He really trained in a way that was ideal for his exact body type. He needed that extra weight to get his power distribution right.
Running 60-70 mpw with workouts consisting mostly of 800s and 1ks with lots of lifting won’t see most people unlocking their potential in 800m, but for him it did.
I am not sure I agree with much of your analysis related to Nick Symmonds:
* N S was an 800m specialist, not an 800m/1500m man. An 800m/1500m athlete is equally good at 800m & 1500m. N S had no chance of making Team USA as a 1500m athlete.
* I don't know if we can attribute N S' height to weight ratio on the time he spent weight training. When I weight trained, if I weigh trained at least 5 days per week plus free-hand exercises, if I ran more than 7 1/2 miles per week, I lost weight and I lost fat.
* Wouldn't wide hips make one have a naturally lower center of gravity which is the opposite of top heavy? When I have had sub-10% body fat while weight training, if I skipped leg days in weight room, I would get top heavy. I have very narrow hips.
Conclusion: About 11 1/2 years ago, I charted the height of Olympic medalists in all running events. About 6'1" for 100m and gradually down to about 5'11" or a fraction more for 800m. Gradually down to about 5'4" or 5'5" for Marathon. A big drop from 800m to 1500m, about 5'9". Another big drop for 5000m, about 5'7". In 800m, if one is not tall, one needs to be strong. One needs to be able to move men with a forearm without looking aggressive. Eight-hundred meters is often a race of near equals. Men have been racing 800m in 1:46.xx or 1:47.xx range or faster for over 85 years. N S, by historical standards is not that much shorter than average for an 800m man at 5'10". Eight-hundred meters is more strongly correlated with 400m speed than 1500m speed. This is where I believe we will agree: The larger the bones, the greater than need for larger muscles to sprint quickly.
Google lists Wheating at 6' 6". Back in his Oregon days, he was warming up outside the stadium at an NCAA Regional and ran past me. He was so tall. I'm 6' 1" and rarely have to look up that high, unless I'm at a basketball game.
Google lists Manzano at 5' 5". I shook his hand a couple of times and he has very small hands. He's more than a foot shorter than Wheating.
Google lists Wheating at 6' 6". Back in his Oregon days, he was warming up outside the stadium at an NCAA Regional and ran past me. He was so tall. I'm 6' 1" and rarely have to look up that high, unless I'm at a basketball game.
Google lists Manzano at 5' 5". I shook his hand a couple of times and he has very small hands. He's more than a foot shorter than Wheating.
you can see right away with Coe and Juantorena to Snell and Wolhuter, to a Johnie Gray, that there is no set body build for the 800. All of them could run 140-141 on today's tracks, the right race, and shoes.
